Thursday, 9 April 2015

The Liebster Blog Award

So, anecdote time. I had the worst day at work last night, and spent my 40-minute drive home raging to myself (and belting out some strong womanly anthems to fuel my inner fire), and instead of grouching on the couch when I got home, like I'd planned to do, I opened up my email to find that I was nominated for a Liebster award! After two full days of 11-hour shifts and smelling like feet and beer (so cute), it was so nice to come home and discover that there is someone who thinks my blog deserves some recognition. Huge shoutout, and thank you, to Liz from Lipstick & Confetti who nominated me for this award and made my crappy night a better one!

The Liebster award, so I've learned, is a way to help promote newer, low-key bloggers with less than 200 followers. Bloglovin' makes it very difficult to find smaller bloggers with less than 200 followers, so this exercise helped me discover a lot of new ones too, cheers!

The rules for this award "tag" are as follows:

1. Thank & link the person who nominated you. (well, of course!)

2. Answer the nominators 11 questions.

3. Nominate 11 small blogs with fewer than 200 followers who you believe deserve this award and include their links.

4. Create 11 new questions for your nominees to answer. Notify those nominees via social media/blogs.

Sounds easy enough, so let's get started. I've answered the 11 questions that I was asked, and they are below.

1. Why did you start blogging?

I worked in the beauty industry (as a makeup artist/cosmetician), as some of you may already know, for a while, and although I already loved makeup before having the job, actually working in the industry was different for me and it introduced me to another side of makeup. After I made an Instagram account and discovered an entire beauty community of bloggers, I thought "I can do that, too" and I made one! I like to talk, I like to write, and even if no one were to read my blog, it's a great outlet for me.

My biggest motivation for blogging was that I needed something to keep me busy. Since I moved to the beach with my boyfriend, I had basically packed up my old life and started a new one somewhere else. I have a lot of free time outside of work and blogging helps me to keep occupied.

2. What was the inspiration behind your url?

Pretty basic, really. I'm a bartender, and it's a play on the Beauty and the Beast. I wanted Beauty and the Bar (it rolls nicer), but it wasn't available so I improvised. I may eventually change it, but for now I like it!

3. What are your must-have makeup products?

False lashes. All the way. I seriously never used to wear them, and naturally I have the longest, thickest lashes ever, but since I started wearing them a few years ago, I can't not wear them now. I feel empty, I feel naked and I feel exposed. Terrible, I know, but those are the one things I can't leave the house without.

4. What is your favourite book?

I don't think I have a favourite, honestly. I don't really have a favourite anything, just current obsessions and lasting loves (plural for both). Currently, I suppose, I'm taking my sweet time to finish the A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) book series, and I'm loving it. I'm far behind the show, still, but it's my current 'favourite' in the book department.

5. What inspires your posts on your blog?

I think it's different for each post. For my beauty posts, nothing really. I usually just find myself rummaging through my makeup collection and thinking "Oh! I should write about that!" and then I start taking pictures. For my lifestyle posts, they're usually inspired by the way I'm feeling that day. Some days I just feel like Advice Column Abby and I want to write about the way I feel toward something, or something I've learned recently. In short, it all depends.

6. What is your favourite app?

Probably Instagram. I'm not a huge social media freak, and I actually don't play a lot of games on my phone, but I do spend a lot of time browsing my Instagram feed, so that's probably my favourite app.

7. How long have you been blogging?

I officially started in maybe November or December of 2014, but I gave up for a few months shortly afterward. I would say I've been *truly* blogging for about two months now.

8. What is your favourite article of clothing in your wardrobe?

I can't answer this... it changes all the time. I'm always just obsessed with a few articles of clothing for a while, and then I go shopping and it's like my previous favourites don't exit anymore because I have new babies. I guess currently, my favourite article of clothing is this black top with gold chain straps. I love anything that's black and having the gold accent makes it a perfect top to slip on if you don't want to wear a lot of jewellery.

9. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Somewhere tropical. I never travelled as a kid or as a teenager, never had the chance or the funds. I'm always continuously envious of those Facebook photo albums titled 'Cancun 2015!' or something similar.

10. What is your favourite type of blog to read?

Beauty & lifestyle, like mine. I like learning about other people's interests and things they like in the beauty world.

11. What is one piece of advice you have for new bloggers?

Love what you do and don't worry about anyone else. That's the biggest thing. I touched on this in my 'Things I've Learned in my First Few Months as a Blogger' post, and I think it really matters. If you enjoy blogging, do it and don't worry about feeling inadequate, or comparing yourself to other bloggers. Enjoying what you do should come first, and if you can do that then the rest will fade away.

The following 11 blogs are the ones I nominate for the Liebster award! These are in no particular order.

Now, for my 11 questions. Some of them I'm going to repeat from my tag or another person's, some I'm going to come up with myself. If you choose to accept my nomination, these are the questions I'd like you to answer! Feel free to change them up, or add one or two of your own if you don't feel like you can provide a good answer for mine. Have fun!

1. How do you stay positive while blogging?

2. What is one talent that you have?

3. What's the story behind your URL?

4. Who's your biggest inspiration?

5. What do you like about the blogging lifestyle?

6. What's your most favourite blog to read lately?

7. What's your favourite photo-editing app to use for Instagram?

(if you don't use any, what's your favourite app in general?)

8. What's something that makes you unique?

9. Coffee or tea?

10. What's your favourite topic to write about on your blog?

11. Tell us something not a lot of people know.

I hope you guys enjoyed this little tag! If you have a blog and want to get it off the ground a little bit more, leave a comment and we'll connect. Thanks for reading!

The Woman Behind the Curtain

A young twenty-something who enjoys video gaming (way too frequently and for all too many hours), dark lipstick shades, extremely strong coffee, and Netflix documentaries. Not necessarily all in that order. She lives on the Canadian East Coast and finds it extremely difficult to write about herself in this manner. Enjoy the blog!

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Welcome & Bonjour

Welcome! I'm Cass. I'm 23 years old and I'm a reclusive gamer and hobbyist who happens to be a fan of beauty. I love video games, dark lipstick, graphic & interior design, and watching copious amounts of Netflix. Click here for more about me.